My Kingdom for a Horse… Outstanding Richard III at The Stratford Festival

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Ah, it’s good to be back.  

Back to the Stratford Festival!  This yearly event graces southern Ontario every summer with productions of plays old and… older… that delight and astonishes the fair-weather crowds of near and far. This season we’ve seen modern versions of Hamlet and traditional renditions of Richard III.

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I’ve seen many Stratford productions, and have enjoyed many if not most of them.  New to me, this year, is the freshly renovated Tom Patterson Theatre, with its oblong stage that shapes the very auditorium.  It is most unusual, and most impressive. 

The first play of Stratford’s Tom Patterson theatre that we did witness was All’s Well That Ends Well, which was… acceptable.  As far as Shakespeare goes, it’s a mild, and mild-mannered, romantic comedy.  It was funny, at times, but a bit boring… for me, at least.  Indeed, I do confess an affinity for The Bard’s… bloodier offerings. 

Hamlet was on air at the Festival Theatre this year, and a while back, so was Othello; I saw both, and loved both.  Each is of a similar ilk; dramatic, if not tragic, tales of maligned and misaligned bluebloods and how the world around them crumbles.  The production of our discussion, Richard III, is a more traditional presentation of this sort of fictionalized period piece.  

Richard III

Conversely, Othello and Hamlet were presented in a fascinating modern lens of contemporary governmental conduct, with royals in suits, not robes.  Even this year’s All’s Well that Ends Well was saturated in the air of the First World War.  This modern dress-up applies to Richard III, too, but only as a framing device, which proved a pleasant surprise when the scene almost magically transformed from a graffiti-laden construction zone into a medieval chapel. 

Indeed, the set design is lovely, using the unique shape of the stage to erect towering balconies, grandiose dining halls, and pitiful jails.  I can see the same breed of stairs and doorways as the Festival Theatre here in the Tom Patterson, though as the latter was recently refurbished, I cannot say which inspired which.  A thoroughly thorough design, nonetheless. 

The Tom Patterson is a reputable theatre, with all manner of lights and sounds to completely immerse the viewing audience, but I must confess, I do think the sound is a bit intense. The play’s limited score seems over-eager to prove its worth, as it wails high notes whenever a dagger meets flesh.  Put simply, it’s annoying; I love music with all my heart, but it mustn’t tell you how to feel.  A good score compliments the scene instead of drowning it; you should drink in the actors’ performance; less is more. 

Speaking of which, what a cast!  The actors are a splendid bunch who undoubtedly gave their all to entertain with over 30 actors, this was no small ensemble.  But of course, you want names, I have a playbill.  Let’s talk about that.  

His confidante, the Duke of Buckingham, is André Sills, who breathes a proud, loyal life into the usurper’s right-hand man.  A special mention to Seana McKenna, who plays the seldom-seen Queen Margaret; though she has only a handful of scenes, the old matriarch’s bittered scorn is as vivid as it is visceral.  Other shout-outs to the young’uns that played the two boys, the Duke of York and Prince Edward; it must be hard to be so confident in front of so many older actors, but the wee lads pull through all the same.  

Finally, and this may seem random, props to Beck Lloyd, who plays the scrivener, a minor character with a single scene all to themselves.  I have a huge soft spot for minor characters with a stand-out scene, and I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t mention their one scene in the (literal) spotlight.  In case I mistook the character, know that I’m talking about the tall young woman with the glasses.  Her!  Good job!!! 

What a show!  I believe the cast and crew here in Stratford put their heart and soul into the show.  Theatre is a marvelous art in its own right; I love me a good movie, but even something as astonishing as Star Wars can’t capture the magic of a live performance.  I wonder what the late, great Alec Guinness would think of Richard III, although he might be biased… after all, he Opened the Stratford Festival in 1953, playing Richard III all those years ago!  It’s a small world, folks.  You gotta get the most of the good stuff, especially when it’s local! 

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